Kraft wants L.A. team within 2-3 years

When it comes to talking about putting franchises in London or Los Angeles, the league routinely creates a sense of urgency that, when it comes to acting on it, doesn’t seem to actually exist.

Appearing Friday on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that a return to L.A. “within the next two to three years . . . would be in everybody’s best interest.”

The problem continues to be finding a stadium solution that is in the best interests of the NFL and the local interest that would be involved in building a stadium and buying all or part of a relocated team. For years, it’s been believed that the NFL won’t make a deal to return to the NFL unless it’s the right deal, which the ongoing lack of a deal to return to L.A. would seem to confirm.

“We’ve gone a generation — almost 20 years — without a team in L.A.,” Kraft said, via SportsBusiness Daily. “We have a generation of young people growing up not really branded and tied to a team. I think that kind of passion only comes when you have a team you can root for, and I think it’s very important.”

Kraft, who said he’d like to see two teams return to Los Angeles, hinted at one point about ESPN eventually televising a Monday Night Football game “from downtown L.A.,” a reference to the dormant-if-not-dead AEG proposal to build a stadium near Staples Center. Whether an idle comment or deliberate, finding a location for a stadium continues to be one of the biggest challenges.

“It’s complicated, because L.A. is a [big] market, the weather is great, you have so many choices,” Kraft said. “So we need to make sure we have ownership that’s passionate about the game, really feel that the franchise is one of the most important things in their life. Then we’ve got to get the right venue. Having the right venue is so critical because I don’t think we’ll get fans in the L.A. market to come if it’s not really special.”

Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times recently reported that the right venue could be a venue built and owned by the NFL. Whatever the solution, there continues to be plenty of talk about returning to Los Angeles and expanding to London, but no action.

That doesn’t mean quick action isn’t possible, especially with the two teams that left L.A. in 1995 — the Raiders and the Rams — now operating on year-to-year leases.

Maybe Kraft can convince God-dell to pull his head out of his backside and get at least 1 team in LA. At least the govt of LA is smart enough to stiff arm the Mafia Like arrangements the NFL tries to pull on everyone in getting all these Stadiums built with minimal requirements on ownership and holding cities and taxpayers hostage for these arrangements.

Yes, put a team in LA but you better be sure that it is a top tier team. This market will not support a 6-10 or 5-11 team. There are to many other entertainment options available and constant traffic congestion will not help the situation. If this is such a great market why did the Raiders & Rams leave in the first place?

Let’s call it like it is. 2-3 years is Kraft’s “best interest” not everyone else’s, because Kraft is getting on in years and seems to want to see this happen in his lifetime. As a season ticket holder for the Bucs, I’m definitely not willing to subsidize a stadium for another city, especially a city that should easily handle its own stadium if the city and its leadership really wanted a team. And the track record shows they do not. So end this nonsense.

Can someone please stick a mic in this guy’s face when he isn’t loaded?

People in LA don’t like sports. They only go to Lakers games to be seen. Look at the seats at the NASCAR races they run there. They are half empty from lousy ticket sales and the ‘fans’ who do show up choose to hang out underneath the grandstands because they are afraid of sunlight.

upstaterules says:Jul 26, 2014 8:23 AM

Better start talking about expansion Robert. You wouldn’t want to tarnish that “Brand”, and that is exactly what you will do by moving another team.

Kraft also says: “It’s complicated, because L.A. is a [big] market, the weather is great, you have so many choices.” Welcome to the modern era. It’s that way everywhere. One of the competing things in Florida markets are outdoor rec/water sports year round. People can watch the highlights on NFL Redzone while also being out boating, waterskiing, or fishing….or on the trails….or out in the woods. L.A. has a huge population that should not be a consideration there. Meanwhile, Kraft leaves the smaller markets with the same complexities to fend for themselves? Not buying it. L.A. does NOT deserve an NFL team. If they do, buy it and maintain it using L.A. funds.

All the rich ownership and NFL executive stiffs are trying to do their bucket lists and cement some sort of legacies, and they expect us who scrape to buy tickets support our teams in smaller metro areas to go along with it. Team in L.A.; team in London; sell to Bon Jovi. No way.

Those comments were pretty annoying to fans of small market teams..Implication being, you’re not important….the children in your city, that cheer for your team don’t count..because LA deserves a team..No, Kraft…move the Patriots there if it’s so important to you.

Sounds like good timing to put the packers there. “Historic” lambeau will be getting beyond what the band-aids can hold together anymore and we all know that cow-town can’t finance a new facility. Rodgers will be washed up and the band wagon “fans” will fade into the wood work. They’re actually the perfect candidate.

The Chargers are about 120 miles up the road…already closer than most to an NFL team

tooz72 says:Jul 26, 2014 8:44 AM

so basically, Rog and Bob are running the NFL

wryly1 says:Jul 26, 2014 8:45 AM

In virtually every other NFL market, the team has leverage over the city to the extent that billionaire owners can demand public money to build them a billion dollar stadium at taxpayer expense. They have no such leverage in LA – which is why there hasn’t been any team there for 20 years – and also why the ones who were there moved out.

Isn’t this the same owner that complained about having to fly to the west coast twice in the same season?
Now we have a crazy rule so teams don’t play at Oakland and at San Diego in the same season.

If your ideas are not consistent then your logic and reasoning are flawed.

blogatron2000 says:Jul 26, 2014 9:02 AM

Appearing Friday on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that a return to L.A. “within the next two to three years . . . would be in everybody’s best interest.”

The everybody he referenced…that would that be the other 31 current owners whose best interest is a bigger pot to split. It’s certainly not in the fans best interest. LA has demonstrated more than once that they are a hoops town so it isn’t about those fans either.

We do NOT need 5-6 of the 32 NFL teams on the left coast. The NFL will be doomed by political correctness.

leninthebuff says:Jul 26, 2014 9:04 AM

Posts by caldwellsinnerstache and bucsorbust hit the nail on the head…as far as I’m concerned if the NFL wants a team in LA then add two expansion teams and pick another AMERICAN city…screw CANADA and EUROPE!!!!

I’m a card carrying PATS fan and I have always had the utmost respect for Robert Kraft and his family and all that he has done for the Patriots. That said– I am really tired of all the expansion talk…. I absolutely tie his comments about LA team(S!) with the Europe expansion vision.
Football is such a great sport. I’m sitting here on a Saturday morning reading everything I can about training camp…. WHY can’t it be enough? WHY do Mr. Kraft (and his fellow owners) insist on diluting the talent to the point that a team like the Patriots will no longer be able to exist?

If you think about the current NFL ownership (and don’t extend this to the families with generational ownership) only 9 would have had the experience of their teams playing against the Raiders and Rams in LA/Anaheim. Kraft never experienced it. By 1990 there had been a significant demographic shift in those attending games in LA (it went from professional/families to gangs). The LA Metro market is huge. Blackouts in all of So Cal were ridiculous and the fans turned on teams (mostly the Midwest transplants who support their own teams): nobody wants to watch the 4-11 Rams when there was a better game broadcast to the nation. The LA market could support 3 or 4 teams. Give two to the gangs, the rest to the fans.

johnelwayishorsefaced says:Jul 26, 2014 9:21 AM

I’m really, really sick of hearing about where this guys wants teams. Just pick whichever city you want a team in the most and move your team there. It’s just that simple. Otherwise shut up about it.

i, flounder says:Jul 26, 2014 9:25 AM

a large percentage of people in los angeles were the people who were bullied by the jocks in high school. they aren’t interested in football.

L.A. is hurting. They deserve a team. It’s only a few bucks out of fans pockets to help them realize their dreams. Everyone gets to enjoy Hollywood and the movies made in L.A. Now here’s a chance to give something back.

tigerlilac says:Jul 26, 2014 9:36 AM

This thread reeks of Patriots envy. Kraft states a common sense business view from the perspective of an NFL owner the you-know-what hits the fan. Kraft has an outstanding record of ownership, as a team and as a businessman. He used very little public money to build Gillette Stadium while most cities (and politicians) lavished money on much weaker teams and owners. Mock him all you want but he was a fan first and here is his record as owner:
Year Purchased: 1994
Price Paid: $172 M
Current Value: $2 B
Super Bowl Championships: 3

The response your seeing is NOT Patriots envy, I’m a PATS fan!
It’s because I love football that I am so opposed to the idea of expansion to ANY city. They aren’t talking about moving teams (which I also hate to see) they are talking about creating teams, and diluting the talent pool significantly.

No one is debating Mr. Kraft’s past success. We’re questioning his assertion that expansion is good for anyone but the owners and several hundred future players that otherwise would not be ‘NFL caliber.’

Canyonero says:Jul 26, 2014 10:00 AM

In other words Kraft wants to make even more money.

The NFL is absolutely thriving without a team in LA. The only ones who want a team there are the owners and the NFL itself.

Look at the #1 reason they always give: “It’s a huge media market.” What does that have to do with the GAME??

.
Bob Kraft is held in high regard by his fellow owners. He’s respected by the traditionalist franchisees like the Steelers, as well as neo- owners like Jerry Jones. He’s never espoused a anti small market bias.

With that said, Kraft is a key player on the TV and expansion committees chosen by the league. He will always be out front on these issues.
.

That Kraft is such a funny guy eh….but to people that are saying he should move the Pats there….you are just kidding of course, right? New England is the richest part of the country and he makes more money there then he could ever make in LA.

I would love to see the Raiders in a new stadium in LA – Rams Too!! It’s how I grew up, The Anaheim Rams and the LA Raiders

belicheckisgod says:Jul 26, 2014 10:12 AM

I’m a Pats fan and Kraft is one of the better owners in the league, but I agree with many of you: Shut up already about LA and London! I’m beginning to think he’s a part of the NFL Front Office, he’s always lobbying for something. Go drink your 100 year old scotch and watch the games like the rest of us fans. If another owner wants to move a team so be it but it’s not the job of Kraft to make it happen.

stewart09 says:Jul 26, 2014 10:25 AM

Sure if it’s a expansion team but don’t point the finger of death to one of the other 31 teams when you know that LA only loves winners and only a established franchise would work devastating their original fanbase. So we will find out if tradition and cultural win out vs money and we all know which the NFL loves the most….

urbusted2 says:Jul 26, 2014 10:28 AM

If LA wanted a team so bad, why didn’t they keep the other ones they let go? Hey, let’s get a team in Boston. They don’t have one either.

MF loves to attack the Packers’ public ownership structure–but you know what, as a non-profit entity, at least we don’t have some blow hard owner like Kraft or Jones focused solely on maximizing revenues. Who cares what Forbes values your team at? Maybe more teams should be structured like the Pack

howiehandles says:Jul 26, 2014 10:29 AM

Two teams, yeah, that makes sense. Seeing how they lost the two previous ones.

LA tax payers aren’t gonna foot the bill for a stadium. This has been the situation for a long time now and will not change. If owners want a team here they are gonna have to find someone who is willing to pay for it.

Its rare that I hear someone locally talking about the lack of a football team. Its at the point now where people have gone their entire lives in the LA area without a team. They have become fans of other cities teams and that’s fine given the accessibility of games on TV.

L.A., yes. London, no. That’s such an absurd idea. You’d think these millionaires/billionaires who (most of them) made some great business choices to get where they are would see the all downside from a London team…logistics being the most glaring one. It’ll water down the league. It will fail. Obviously these rich owners and Goodell are only seeing the immediate dollar signs. Their greed is going to kill this league if they don’t take a step back and look at the long term effects of a team overseas. Rethink and reboot NFL Europe if you want the NFL over there.

Its amazing to me that a sport as popular as the NFL still has cities like San Diego, Buffalo, and Jacksonville with teams and they can’t even sell out their stadiums. Buffalo is hard pressed sell out playoff games. How about thinking outside of the box and putting some teams in areas of the country where the population might be smaller but football passion is through the roof. Alabama, Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho etc. You have small time college towns who can sell out 100,000 seat stadiums every saturday, but you can’t get a NFL fan base who can sell out 8 games a year?

I can’t go along with Kraft when he talks about London but having a NFL franchise is the largest population center in the country makes sense. Instead of making stupid remarks like ‘NKL League’ some people ought to pay more attention to one of the more astute and successful owners in the league.

Forget how storied the Packers franchise is, or how many championships they have. The absolute BEST part of being a Packers fan is not ever having to listen to or defend loud-mouthed idiot owners like Mr. Kraft.

ghost26 says:Jul 26, 2014 12:35 PM

justwinbaby29 says: Jul 26, 2014 12:22 PM

All commissioners answer to the owners but Goodell is a complete puppet. He does whatever they tell him and doesn’t stand up and reign them in for the good of the game when needed.

Justwinbaby,

No question about it which is why Goodell, Kraft, & Jerry Jones all sound exactly the same.

olcap says:Jul 26, 2014 12:43 PM

billswillnevermove says: Jul 26, 2014 8:48 AM

England Patriots sounds good to me.
——

+1000

olcap says:Jul 26, 2014 12:48 PM

justwinbaby29 says: Jul 26, 2014 12:22 PM

All commissioners answer to the owners but Goodell is a complete puppet. He does whatever they tell him and doesn’t stand up and reign them in for the good of the game when needed.
——

He grew up the son of a senator, never was exposed to real life situations or hardships, and learned from his father the way of becoming a good “yes” man.

Wow, I really mean wow!!! Can’t believe that I am actually hearing what’s best for business from non business owners. Knock Robert Kraft all you want, the man knows what he’s talking about plain and simple. And when the Patriots knock your team from either playoff contention or knocks them out of the playoffs we’ll soon here more fans bashing quotes

harrisonhits2 says:Jul 26, 2014 1:45 PM

Hate to disappoint you Pats haters, but the team that gets moved to LA won’t be a teams that’s had 15+ years of consecutive sellouts and something like 50,000 people on the wait list for season tix.

It will be a bottom feeder team and not the Pats.

Kraft is one of the singular best owners in sports and is the only NFL owner to finance his own stadium.

The whole reason the Owners want 2 teams in LA is because they can get 2 billion per team in TV revenue. Greedy owners! Living out here they would never get any local tax voted for financing a Stadium. Since it’s so expensive to live out here, it would cost 1.5 billion for a stadium to be built. No owner is going to put that up! So unless the League is willing to finance most of it, with trying to recoup through future Superbowls being awarded? Then there will not be a team there anytime soon. That’s reality folks!

chargerdillon says:Jul 26, 2014 2:22 PM

Simple question….. if Kraft wants a team in LA….. and it’s in everybodys best interest…. why not move the Patriots to LA?

Is Robert Kraft really telling other billionaires how to spend their money and what’s in “everybodys” best interest while really doing nothing about it.

Unless Kraft is moving the pats he really needs to shut up. It is crap to keep rehashing a list of teams potentially moving. I guess if the soulless owners keep saying that a team is moving to LA then the average mouth breathing fan begins to think that it “just makes sense” unless of course it is your favorite team.

archersofmtdoom says:
Jul 26, 2014 12:52 PM
Tell me again, why is there nothing suspicious about a man of Kraft’s magnitude being so involved in the league & also having one of the most successful franchises of the last 15 years?
——–
Jerry Jones called. He points out that his team has sucked for two decades, despite his involvement in league affairs.

Lol wow! There is a lot of hate for the best owner in the league. I’m a Vikings fan that lives in LA and I couldn’t agree more with Kraft. I wish Zygi Wilf was half the owner that Robert is. Must be a lot of Jags and Bills fans in here. Who could honestly defend a franchise in Jacksonville but be opposed to one in Los Angeles? It’s the 2nd biggest market in our country!

Actually, ‘gammy’, the Patriots are in the 7 largest media market in the US. The six markets larger are:
1. New York
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Dallas-Ft. Worth
6. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
7. Boston

The other NFL teams are in smaller media markets, some MUCH smaller. For instance, the Green Bay-Appleton market is considered the 70th largest media market in the US; Pittsburgh the 23rd largest; Denver the 18th; etc.

The city of Boston may be small in population in comparison to some other cities, but the metro area (aka media market, aka television market) is not small. Similar to Washington, DC. DC has a population of less than 650,000, but the metro area (aka media market, aka television market) is about 4.5 million.

If you had told me right after the Raiders and Rams left there would be no team in LA 20 years later, I’d have laughed my butt off and bet you everything I had there would have been a team there within 2 years.

Krafts just talking again to make his team relevant. They have not won a superbowl in ten year without cheating. His team is on the downside as is Brady. He needs to figure out how to make his team great again instead of trying to get a team in LA and London.

1) The stadiums in the LA area, The Coliseum built for the Olympics. and the Rose Bowl can seat over 100K people. Too large for the NFL.

2) Both stadiums were built before WWII and don’t have a nerdy internet connection to every seat (aren’t people there to watch the game?)

3) Taxpayers don’t see the justification of building another expensive little used stadium to make the NFL owners more money.

4) LA gets to watch the best games now. The NFL gets excellent television ratings in Los Angeles. Why would LA area residents want a crappy team blocking their access to the best of the NFL?

5) The NFL is not serious. If the NFL really wanted to be in Los Angeles, they would play a Super Bowl there or Pro Bowl or even an exhibition game. They could have easily moved the vikings there but realized it is easier to buffalo Minnesota politicians than LA and California ones.

6) London cannot be taken seriously when there is no team in Los Angeles. Both are just noisy hot air for politicians, not reality.

Split the country in half, starting with the eastern border of Kansas. There are 5 NFL teams west of there. Before Goodell gets London, he needs to realize there is a lot of untapped spots in the western US!

Getting a team in LA has not been a problem…it’s been KEEPING a team in LA. The Rams and Raiders both got the hell out…and considering the Raiders went to OAKLAND of all places…

tigerlilac says:Jul 27, 2014 5:44 AM

One more point about Kraft. He single handedly stopped James “Busch” Orthwein from moving the Patriots out of New England to St. Louis. He owned the stadium, blocking Orthwein’s planned move, then bought the franchise, and kept the team in New England. The guy is an NFL hero.